State minister for finance tells city discussion

State minister for finance and planning MA Mannan said excise duty on bank accounts is not new as it was there since 1947 and the rate of this duty was adjusted upward at different times, reports BSS.

Addressing a city discussion on Sunday, the state minister said account-holders having deposits of Tk 20,000 are now paying Tk 500 as excise duty.

In the budget for the fiscal year 2017-18, the government has proposed for the account-holders having deposits of Tk 100,000 to pay Tk 800 as excise duty, he said.

In this context, he said quoting a Bangladesh Bank information that says around 80 per cent bank accounts have deposits below Tk 100,000.

The Daily Sun organised the discussion on the new VAT rate and its impact on businesses and consumers with its editor Enamul Hoque Chowdhury in the chair.

Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB) president Ghulam Rahman, Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity president Helal Uddin, research director of CPD Khandaker Golam Moazzem, Bangladesh Super Market Owners' Association president Neaz Rahim and Kamrul Islam of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), among others, took part in the discussion.

Md. Zakir Hossain, deputy project director of VAT online under the National Board of Revenue, presented the keynote paper.

About the new VAT law, Mr Mannan said 80 per cent products are exempted from the value added tax (VAT) so that the low income people are not affected.

According to him, the average VAT rate is 16.5 per cent in different countries in the world, but there will be a 15 per cent uniform VAT rate in Bangladesh from July 1.

"The uniform VAT rate in Nepal and Bhutan is also 15 per cent . . . if they can pay it, then why cannot we do that?" he said.

"We'll be able to enforce the new VAT law properly," he said.

CAB president Ghulam Rahman said supplementary duty has been increased on some products and hence suggested maintaining the supplementary duty on soaps and toothpaste at the present rate as it affects the consumers.

If the new VAT law is not implemented properly, consumers will ultimately be affected, he observed.

Md Zakir Hossain in his keynote paper said proper implementation of new VAT law will help improve Bangladesh's ranking in the global doing business index.